Tom Fitzgerald
American | birth_date = | birth_place = Billerica, MA, USA | draft = 17th overall | draft_year = 1986 | draft_team = New York Islanders | career_start = 1988 | career_end = 2006 }} Tom Fitzgerald (born August 28, 1968, in Billerica, Massachusetts) is a retired American professional player who played seventeen seasons in the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League. He currently serves as assistant to the general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins. He won the Stanley Cup in 2009 as an assistant coach with Pittsburgh. in 1999]] Playing career Fitzgerald played his college hockey for Providence College and was selected by the New York Islanders of the NHL in the 1986 NHL Entry Draft (1st round, 17th overall). He turned pro in 1988 with the Islanders' American Hockey League affiliate Springfield Indians, and in 1990 was one of the key players who led Indians to the Calder Cup championship. He played parts of five seasons for the Islanders before being drafted as one of the original Florida Panthers in the 1993 NHL Expansion Draft. Although he has been cast as a defensive forward in the NHL, he had his best scoring years in Miami and was one of the leaders in Florida's 1996 Stanley Cup run. In those 1995–96 playoffs, Fitzgerald scored the decisive goal in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was a 58-foot slapshot that found its way past Penguins goalie Tom Barrasso. He was briefly traded to the Colorado Avalanche in 1998 before being drafted in another expansion draft, this time by the Nashville Predators, who sought out his veteran leadership. Fitzgerald was named Nashville's first captain and so served for four seasons. He has subsequently played for the Chicago Blackhawks and the Toronto Maple Leafs. While with Toronto, Fitzgerald and his Maple Leafs teammate Gary Roberts both played in the 1,000th game of their careers on January 13, 2004. In the summer of 2004, Fitzgerald signed as a free agent with the Boston Bruins. In July 2006, the Boston Bruins chose not to renew his contract. He announced his retirement on September 12, 2006. Fitzgerald did a stint as an analyst for the Outdoor Life Network during the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs, and is one of NESN's studio analysts during postgame coverage of Boston Bruins' matches. He was the first player in NHL playoff history to score two shorthanded goals on the same minor penalty, against the Pittsburgh Penguins on May 2, 1993, which also equaled the NHL record for shorthanded goals by a player in one game. In July 2007, Fitzgerald left NESN when he was named Director of Player Development for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Career statistics --- Regular season --- ---- Playoffs Season Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1986-87 Providence College NCAA 27 8 14 22 22 -- -- -- -- -- 1987-88 Providence College NCAA 36 19 15 34 50 -- -- -- -- -- 1988-89 Springfield Indians AHL 61 24 18 42 43 -- -- -- -- -- 1988-89 New York Islanders NHL 23 3 5 8 10 -- -- -- -- -- 1989-90 Springfield Indians AHL 53 30 23 53 32 14 2 9 11 13 1989-90 New York Islanders NHL 19 2 5 7 4 4 1 0 1 4 1990-91 Capital District Islander AHL 27 7 7 14 50 -- -- -- -- -- 1990-91 New York Islanders NHL 41 5 5 10 24 -- -- -- -- -- 1991-92 Capital District Islander AHL 4 1 1 2 4 -- -- -- -- -- 1991-92 New York Islanders NHL 45 6 11 17 28 -- -- -- -- -- 1992-93 New York Islanders NHL 77 9 18 27 34 18 2 5 7 18 1993-94 Florida Panthers NHL 83 18 14 32 54 -- -- -- -- -- 1994-95 Florida Panthers NHL 48 3 13 16 31 -- -- -- -- -- 1995-96 Florida Panthers NHL 82 13 21 34 75 22 4 4 8 34 1996-97 Florida Panthers NHL 71 10 14 24 64 5 0 1 1 0 1997-98 Florida Panthers NHL 69 10 5 15 57 -- -- -- -- -- 1997-98 Colorado Avalanche NHL 11 2 1 3 22 7 0 1 1 20 1998-99 Nashville Predators NHL 80 13 19 32 48 -- -- -- -- -- 1999-00 Nashville Predators NHL 82 13 9 22 66 -- -- -- -- -- 2000-01 Nashville Predators NHL 82 9 9 18 71 -- -- -- -- -- 2001-02 Nashville Predators NHL 63 7 9 16 33 -- -- -- -- -- 2001-02 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 15 1 3 4 6 5 0 0 0 4 2002-03 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 66 4 13 17 57 7 0 1 1 4 2003-04 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 69 7 10 17 52 10 0 0 0 6 2004-05 DNP - 04/05 Lockout -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 2005-06 Boston Bruins NHL 71 4 6 10 40 -- -- -- -- -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NHL totals 1097 139 190 329 776 78 7 12 19 90 External links * * Category:Born in 1968 Category:American ice hockey players Category:Boston Bruins players Category:Calder Cup champions Category:Stanley Cup champions Category:Chicago Blackhawks players Category:Colorado Avalanche players Category:Florida Panthers players Category:National Hockey League first round draft picks Category:Nashville Predators players Category:New York Islanders players Category:Springfield Indians players Category:Toronto Maple Leafs players Category:Capital District Islanders players Category:Retired in 2006